


No Fear Where There's Anger

by Solrosfalt



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Angst and Feels, Coming of Age, F/F, Hi I'm Sol and I think Ylisse is pretty darn cool too, I tagged only the characters with speaking roles, Non-Graphic Violence, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Doubt, Severa uses Foul Words like Twice, Strong Language, Violence Against Doomsday-Dragons, and I didn't tag all parent ships because they just kind of exist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 08:09:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17199776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solrosfalt/pseuds/Solrosfalt
Summary: “You’re scared?” Severa’s voice was not scornful, her intonation aside. “Well, then get behind me,princess, because I’m not.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cowboy_Sneep_Dip](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cowboy_Sneep_Dip/gifts).



> Me being intrigued by Lucina/Severa is entirely (almost) because of @Cowboy_Sneep_Dip and I was suddenly inspired to write this and here we are.
> 
> My first time writing anything 3DS-era FE, I hope you enjoy!

Lucina heard the story from the celebration of her birth every single year.

Her father had taken her in his arms, and her mother, being the way she was, had risen from the bed of childbirth after just an hour.

Lucina was seven years old, and she didn’t understand _why_ rising early from childbirth was such an impressive thing to do, but with the beaming faces and awed nods whenever the story came up, Lucina could figure out that it _was_ an impressive thing to do. So she just nodded like the others did and let her father keep on his retellings with the proudest of grins.

On that day, both of her parents had stood on the royal balcony mere hours after her birth, and Lucina herself had been swept in layers of cloth. The citizens of their kingdom had assembled en masse below them, and they had plenty of cheers for their new princess. The noise had awoken Lucina, and when she had opened her eyes, her father lifted her high and announced for all to hear: “ _She carries the Brand in her eye!”_

Again, another thing that Lucina found difficult to understand the full weight of – the Brand was Special, a sign granted the strongest of the Hero King Marth’s bloodline since _probably_ forever (Uncle Fredrick always used _probably_ when teaching her history, because "nothing was ever certain", he said). And sure, Lucina could buy that, but why only the _Strongest_ ? Was she so special for such a simple reason? Gods and Divines and stuff were not supposed to be questioned, but still… Lucina got a little sister when she was two years old, and everyone seemed to _wait_ for the Brand to show. It was annoying, but Lucina stayed quiet. The world of grown-ups was a weird place.

Little Kjelle had hair exactly like Lucina’s, and by now she was much stronger than Lucina, even though Lucina was older. Kjelle would have wrestled her down every day if she’d been allowed – but both their mother and Uncle Frederick guided them and their energies into something more productive; weapons-mastering.

Lucina focused on copying her father’s form with a sword, while Kjelle loved the option of whacking dummies with a spear. And thus, any sibling dispute was settled with a duel. Which was probably how all siblings settled things, or so Lucina thought.

They were quite evenly matched in their duels – Lucina was older and faster while Kjelle was stronger and taller.

And yet, Kjelle didn’t have the Brand.

Maybe that was why she loved Auntie Lissa so much. Auntie Lissa never got the Brand, either.

That difference between Kjelle and Lucina couldn’t be settled with a duel, but it was a peaceful affair despite that – or it was as long as Lucina didn’t steal Lissa’s attention too much. If she did, Kjelle would scream at her for being ‘ _greedy and mean!’_

Greedy. Lucina had everything everyone else in the world wanted. That she’d understood from really, really early on. Being greeted to the world by cheers from an entire kingdom wasn’t the standard for little babies – she’d been given a gift by the patron goddess Naga herself. And that was why she had to try her absolute best to become the heir her father had been. Strong, and just. It wouldn’t be any harm if she learned to be determined and loyal to her kingdom like Uncle Frederick and kind like Auntie Lissa and elegant like Auntie Maribelle and clever like Councilor Robin.

It was kind of overwhelming, but Lucina observed and adapted. If she got frustrated, a duel with Kjelle was a _great_ pastime. She’d ask Councilor Robin and Miss Panne’s son to join them too, as soon as he was older. Maybe cousin Owain could become a nice sparring partner too, but as of right then, both were mere babies whose greatest enemies were the blankets they kicked off in their sleep.

There was no war on the horizon. Lucina had only heard stories from her father and mother, about the conflict with Plegia that had cost them Auntie Emmeryn’s life among many, many others. That was enough for Lucina to detest it, to fear it. War was never, ever something she wanted. Duels were one thing, but war… was Scary.

That she wouldn’t question, and she felt like she _knew_ what she was meant to do when she was grown like Father. Naga had blessed her with a Brand and everything else for one reason and one reason only – to continue this legacy of peace.


	2. Chapter 2

Severa’s fingers stroked the hammer-shaped edge of the armorslayer in her dad’s attic. Her dad had more swords than Severa could count. Being six years old she should _apparently_ be able to count further than twenty, at least if her mom’s encouraging pushes was any indication, but screw _counting_ things. Severa could run really-really fast and reach the highest branches of oaks bigger than her house and lift a whole lance without her arms hurting and jump further than Gerome was tall (they’d tried that and Severa only landed on his face a _little_ bit).

And, Severa knew that the attic was full of swords, so why'd she wantknow about math for, anyway? It was so full of all kinds of shapes and lengths, her mother’s stuff was all stacked in the stables instead – in neat rows where everything had its place – her dad was messier and thank the gods for that. The attic looked a lot more like the way Severa’s head _felt_. So this was where she went when her stupid friends couldn’t come out and play or when her mom sighed and said “ _oh Sev_ ” like _that_ or when her father only shook his head quietly at her.

The attic was safe, and fun. Other parents might object, but Severa’s mom couldn’t when she was out with her knights and her dad didn't want to. He seemed to think there was no better place for a child to be than surrounded by blades of their own choosing.

Well, most blades were protected by scabbards anyway. Except for the armorslayer. Weird shape meant hard to get out of the scabbard, which meant better with no scabbard at all. Severa was clever enough to figure that out herself.

“Severa!”

Her father’s voice was gruff. Gerome said her dad has an ‘ _accent_ ’, but Severa couldn’t tell if that was true. Her dad talked the way he talked, which wasn’t much to begin with.

She heard him grunting as he climbed the ladder to the attic. She pondered whether she should turn her back to him and pretend not to care that he was there, or if she should look strong and glare at him. She couldn’t come to a decision before her dad’s brown tousled hair was visible at the far end of the attic, and she was left to only look mopey as his frown reached her.

Her dad didn’t say anything else, now that he’d found her. He climbed the rest of the way and crouched beside her. His fingers reached for a short glass sword, but Severa wasn’t afraid at all. Her dad grabbed various swords to help himself focus, not to look threatening. Honestly, Severa didn’t get what the others meant when they say he looked  _‘scary’_.

“Your mother’s gone”, he grunted, his eyes on the handle of the glass sword.

Severa didn’t answer, but she mirrored him by dragging the armorslayer into her lap.

“She was very sad because of what you did”, he continued. Then he waited.

“Not my fault”, Severa muttered in response, and her father scoffed.

“Yes, very much your fault, it was not nice.”

_Stupid dad, doesn’t understand._

“Was it your _intention_ to make her sad?”

Severa shook her head. Still not looking at him. No, she’d just been angry and she never knew where her anger was supposed to _go_. Her mom had awoken her for morning training with the lance, and they’d drilled all the complicated motions together – because that was what mom had done when she was little and she turned out really strong. Of course Severa wanted that too.

But it was just so _hard_ , and her mom made it look so easy, looking like a reincarnation of the goddess of vigilance that Noire has a picture of in a book (Severa didn’t know what _vigilance_ meant but it’s got to be good if it looked like her mom). All while Severa’s lance bonked into the ground and the tip wasn’t centered and still her mom said “ _good job, Sev! That’s the spirit!_ ” and her mind just blacked out like it’d been squished beneath pressure. The same pressure that made her mother smile so bravely only _hurt,_  why couldn’t Severa just _do it,_ it was clearly not hard—

“You should apologize when she comes home”, her dad said, with a glance up from the glass sword. “And promise to never call your mom _‘piss_ ’ again. Because…?”

 “Because I shan’t be rude to other people”, Severa mumbled. She understood what those words meant, her mother said them all the time when she lectured her, but when Severa was angry, she was  _angry_. Miss Miriel, a friend to both her parents, had other doctor friends that helped by talking to Severa together with her parents. Teaching her parents how to _best support her_. Severa found it incredibly boring. Took such a long time. If doctors fixed people, why couldn’t they just make Severa like her mom? She’d literally have no problem if she was.

“I’m sorry”, she mumbled, her hands around the armorslayer’s handle. “I’m… bad.”

Her dad put a hand on her shoulder, and _patted_ her. Her dad wasn’t much for either talking _or_ giving people supportive pats. And… suppose that made Severa a little bit special, anyway.

“You’re not bad”, her dad said. “It was a slip, but we work together to make it better.” That was definitely a phrase the doctors taught him, but it still felt a little bit good to hear. “Severa… Being a child is hard. I slipped a lot too when I was young.”

Severa lit up at that, with a little bit of new hope. “Mom too?”

Her father’s silence was enough for her to understand what the answer would be, and her hope died. _Of course_ not mom.

“Your mother and I are alike”, he answered finally. “When we want to feel better, we train. What would make you feel better, right now?”

 _Apologizing to mom_ , she should answer. But instead, her focus was on the armorslayer. She could lift it just by angling her wrists, even though it was really heavy. That felt… _cool_ , as Noire’s weird friend Cynthia would say it. And… Her mom didn’t know how to handle swords, right? She might be able to use both magic and lances, but swords… That was dad’s job. _And we’re stronger together_ , her mom always said when she spoke of the old war where she met dad.

Severa let the blade thunk into the floorboards. And her dad didn’t mind. He only smiled a little. Maybe he was thinking what she was thinking, but Severa liked to make sure.

“I want to win a duel”, she said, her chin raised and her finger pointed at her dad.

That was _clearly_ not what he was thinking, because he laughed. But he raised his little glass sword, still in its scabbard, wiggling it like he was only playing a game. It would have made Severa angry that he didn’t take her seriously like mom, but then again, this was _dad_. He was about as responsive to play with as a brick wall – usually.

“Let us duel then”, he said. “And no going through the basics! In my country, we learn by doing.”

Severa smiled back at him, lifting the armorslayer once again.

Now that… That actually sounded like fun.

_*_*_*_

Severa visited the doctors until she was ten years old. After that, there was no need. Apparently, she was ‘ _adapting well’_ and ‘ _given her current growth you’ll only have to contact us only if you feel the pressing need to’_. It was a polite way to say it, but Severa was pretty sure she caught what they meant. Life was pretty rowdy, nowadays, and doctors were too busy to sit and talk anger management with a difficult child. Her mother was gone a lot more to fight the gross undead creatures sliming their way over the border from Plegia.

Severa’s mother was not like everyone else’s. She was amazing and fantastic and everyone adored her and she was not trying to sugarcoat scary things for her child. She drew the creatures on a block of paper (perfect artistry, of course), and pointed out their weak spots to both Severa and her dad. Then, her dad would discuss how to slice at them most effectively and her mom would nod knowingly and give her own inputs.

Severa didn’t think she’d ever get to use the knowledge, but she was motivated to know it, still. Her mother had lost a battle _once_ in her life. And Severa would lose _none_. She was getting really good with a lot of swords, and her father was smiling a lot when they dueled and it was a _proud_ smile. Not a _I’m-having-fun-sparring-with-my-useless-daughter_ -smile.

She was better than Gerome and better than Ingio, and… Maybe she was better than Noire? Well, there was no pride in beating the ones that squeaked as soon as they saw blood or a bruise, so she didn’t count Noire. One would have to be a sick bastard to take pride in beating Noire, and Severa might be angry a lot, but she would never be a sick bastard. A grumpy bastard, maybe. That’s what Ingio called her. Not that she valued his opinion very much - he got scared by the images of the _Risen_ Severa shared with them in the town park, hiding behind his brother like a little kid (he sort of was, but...)

Severa didn’t think much about how scary the Risen were. If she was good enough to beat them, she didn’t have a problem and no reason to be scared. Simple logic.

 

Her mother was gone a lot more during a few months. She’d hug and snuggle Severa before she left and Severa would grumble but her mom was a great hugger and she loved her and there was no reason to pretend anything else. Then her mom would return and her dad would leave instead and so it continued.

No one said _war_. But most people seemed to think that was what this was, anyway. Maybe it was tough to be a parent and a knight during such a time, but Severa’s mom and dad sure tried. Gerome’s and Inigo’s moms were out almost always, and with them being lonelier they clung to Severa instead. They were like her brothers, soon enough. If they weren’t already. Annoying nerds.

That was just life. Severa got to dig her steel sword into practice dummies and feel pretty great about herself, and she wouldn’t mind too much if it just continued like this. But it didn’t. It got worse.

Bad enough for her mom to come home one day, injured and out of breath. She patched herself up, and she wouldn’t answer Severa’s questions. Except that they apparently had to meet with the Lord Exalt, _now_ (or, as soon as her hair wasn’t a mess and her face wasn’t grimy).

 

They were at the castle in the capital by the end of the day. In Severa’s opinion, this day was one of the worst in her life – she had _zero_ motivation to come with her parents to the castle unless it was to indulge in the amazing sights and shops of the capital, but her mom refused to let Severa stay home alone. Which was just terrific.

She sulked after her dad, her sword on her hip making her feel a little bit more important. But it was hard to just walk past everything on the main streets, or not to gawk a little at the _luxury_ of the castle. Her stupid parents weren’t here for _fun_ , they were here for the Lord Exalt meeting them halfway on the castle’s outer ward, where beautiful gardens had ivy crawling up into shapes of animals and myths and the rain had colored the stone a dark gray… The sights were so much more interesting than the people here, even if said people were _important_.

Her mom and dad bowed. Severa stood hidden behind her dad, watching the walls and the flowers. How could anyone live here? It looked like a fairy tale picture book, gods—

“You’re supposed to _bow_ ”, a high-pitched voice told her, and that made Severa’s eyes snap to the tallest of the two princesses.

There was a bit of a silence from the adults, then they began their whispers about their Important Matters and the shortest princess (by no means _short,_ though, she was like Severa but she had her shoulders so straight like she’d been pressed on an ironing board and that made her look taller) listened in, but the tallest princess wasn’t letting go of Severa.

“You’re supposed to bow”, she said again. Her chin low. Apparently taking great offense by Severa just existing. Severa snarled at her. Like she’d bow _now_ , when a snotty eight-year-old told her to! Tall or not, Severa could tell she was younger.

Severa only squared her shoulders, and that was like pressing a button on Miss Princess. Her eyes got all dark and she drew her lance. So, this just got more interesting.

The queen put her hand on the princess’ shoulder, holding her back. “Kjelle, what’s goin’ on?”

Kjelle spun her lance in her hands. “I’m gonna duel this one!”

The adults looked at each other awkwardly for a moment, but Severa wasn’t gonna keep them from their important-whatever-businesses. She drew her own sword. “Bring it on!”

This princess might look imposing, but she hadn’t trained every day since she was six (right? Well even if she had, that was just two years compared to Severa’s _four_ ) and she didn’t have a mom who was an expert on the art of the lance (right? Well, whatever, a queen is busy, no way she got to teach her kid!) or a dad who was an expert in the sword (oh, no, that she had to take back, her mom would be furious if she ever thought something bad about the Lord Exalt).

Anyway, this was a chance to show up a _princess_. Her mom wouldn’t back down from such a challenge, so Severa wouldn’t either.

They moved away from the adults, into a more open place of the garden. None of their parents tried to stop them, or even looked their way. But the other princess looked really worried for some reason. Perhaps scared that Severa would beat up her little sister. Hah.

“First one to bleed”, Kjelle said, removing her cloak so that her arms were bare. Severa did the same.

They faced each other then, circling and testing the ground.

“You could still bow”, Kjelle said with lazy shrug.

Severa massaged her swords hilt and narrowed her eyes. “No thanks.”

“Suit yourself.”

They clashed. Severa’s blade scraped against the wood of Kjelle’s lance, and with a flick of Kjelle’s wrist, Severa’s sword uselessly flung to the side. Messing up her balance, and for that opening, she got the butt of the lance in her chest.

She waved her sword in an arc from below, but she was winded and her eyes didn’t focus because of it so Kjelle easily parried her. And knocked her, again. And again.

Severa tried to back away, but Kjelle followed her relentlessly. Didn’t let up until she got close enough to kick Severa down.

It was all wrong. It wasn’t how a lance wielder fought, her mom was totally different. And Severa couldn’t _lose_ —

The spear tip got closer to her with a whoosh. She didn’t know if Kjelle intended to just cut her arm or if she meant to spear her completely – and she didn’t really care. Her life was over anyway. Who’d she been kidding? Her dad was the best swordsman in Regina Ferox, and she’d thought she was his equal? That was just laughable. He must be standing over there, hand covering his face and her mom was _dying_ of shame but that was _nothing_ compared to Severa.

The spear never hit her. It was almost disappointing.

Another blade swished into her vision, blocking the lance’s arc. It too was of simple steel, but it moved so gracefully nonetheless.

“Kjelle, cut it out! Leave her alone!”

Kjelle turned around to face her new opponent instead, her lance whipping about in the air at the target.

“She isn’t bleeding yet”, Kjelle said, but she made no more attempts toward Severa. Instead, she relentlessly attacked the other princess. Kjelle was definitely smiling at the beginning. Then, not at all. Her sister read her every move, and her sword sounded like a hammer. In the end, the other princess reached Kjelle’s arm, merely grazing it enough to draw blood. And there, they both stopped.

“This is _serious_ Kjelle!” The victor was shouting at her like they’d been having just a normal sibling argument. “Miss Cordelia has news from the border and you bruise her daughter like this! It’s impolite and stupid!”

“She started it”, Kjelle shrugged, glancing at Severa. “And Mother said it was okay.”

“Well, _I_ won, and _I_ say you go back and actually listen to dad because this is _serious_!”

“Okay, okay, you said that already.”

Kjelle left, her shadow no longer on the ground beside Severa.

It was hard to breathe, but not because of the hits. She had to fight her stupid tears and now the other princess crouched down beside her, oh gods this really was the _worst day ever—_

“I’m sorry about my sister”, the elegant princess said. Her voice was melodic and commanding. She’d probably gone to _lessons_ to make it sound like that, or she was just born with it because princesses get _everything_.

“Are you… okay?”

Severa’s breath got caught in her throat, and maybe if she kept that up the princess would think she was dead and leave her alone. That, or tears would start to roll down her cheeks as soon as her mom appeared above her. Gods… She was so incredibly pathetic.

“Oh, _Sev_ ”, her mom sighed, and it was like a knife straight into Severa’s heart. She let herself be lifted into her mother’s arms, wrapping her own arms around her shoulders.

She caught sight of that other princess. She looked so worried, and Severa wanted to punch a wall. Who’d she think she was? Some shining knight coming to the rescue with her glowing hair and perfect stance—

Severa closed her eyes, and she refused to open them until they had found their place at an inn. There, they sat together on three different beds, her parents tense and serious. Severa still had no idea what the rush had been for, but she still didn’t care. _Her_ world had been sent upside down, and she didn’t care about the rest of it.

“Severa, what happened with her highness Kjelle?” Her mom looked so tired. “Did you get… Angry?”

“No!” Severa snapped, her shoulders tensing. “She seemed to want to fight and— and I did too! That’s it!”

Her mom sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “It wasn’t the best time, Sev, you could have gotten hurt and I’ve already seen enough pain today—“

Severa saw red and black. It was the pang of anger she recognized all too well.

“Well I’m _sorry_ that me being hurt is bad for _you_ ”, she screamed, rising to her full height which was just pathetic too. “And I’m sorry for being a loser and a gods-damned _disappointment_!”

She was crying again, but now she saw tears in her mom’s eyes too. “Sev, no, you’re not a disappointment – that is not in any way what I meant! You’re my precious little girl and I love you so, so much—“

“You only say that because you’re so _disgustingly perfect_ ”, Severa interrupted her, then dashed through the room and slammed the door. She stayed there, catching her sobs. From inside, she could hear another’s sobbing voice – her mom.

“ _Why can’t I do anything right?”_

Severa’s breath halted in her chest. Her mom had never said that before. Was she not—? Was she _insecure_ —?

Severa should go inside again. Her red anger was gone now, quickly as it came. But no, she wouldn’t go back in. It was high time her mom got to have a sense of what it was like to be Severa.


	3. Chapter 3

Lucina was a part of the council, and she easily the youngest there. She’d just become sixteen years old, and for once her parents weren’t telling the story of her birth. They were too busy.

After all these years, Councilor Robin had pinpointed the area where the _Risen_ came from, thanks to the hard work of Dame Cordelia’s squad. The high priests of Plegia seemed to be the cause, a temple in the far off mountains. The Plegian queen claimed to know nothing, like before - she'd really been no help at all - but she had no choice but to let the Ylissean troops come in and end the cause to the Risen now that they'd been found.

Then, all would be peace. Hopefully. _Hopefully_. Her mother and father were heroes, and so was everyone else they suggested to bring with them to the offense. Lucina needn’t be worried.

But there were other parts of it that _did_ worry her. Her father was clearly thinking that this would take a long time, and had offered the children of his close friends to stay at the castle with Auntie Lissa overseeing them. Lucina, used to getting her peace and quiet, would have to share her room with Kjelle – and that was pretty luxurious compared to the other children who had to live in groups of four.

Lucina was the oldest of them, _and_ the princess besides. Auntie Lissa would have a lot on her plate, Lucina could hardly just lean back. She'd do best to help her. She knew a lot of the children present – Kjelle, of course, and Yarne, and cousin Owain and cousin Brady. Then there were others who were somewhat familiar, because she’d heard of them or seen them on occasion. Cynthia had energy enough for ten people and it wasn’t exactly easy to forget her, then there was Dame Cordelia’s and Master Lon’qu’s child, Severa. Lucina had not seen her for more than ten minutes five years in the past, but it was hard to forget someone who had responded to Kjelle’s challenge so immediately and so bravely. She’d lost, of course, because Kjelle's only even match was Lucina. But still. That was brave.

Lucina did not want history to repeat itself, though – when Severa and Kjelle met each other, both were steaming of frustration from being left by their parents. Lucina felt that too, but she knew her sister would be way more… expressive about it.

“Oh, it’s you”, Kjelle had greeted Severa.

“Right”, Severa answered. “Hello, miss _bow-to-me-or-I-might-cry-and-tell-mom_.”

“Bold words, Miss _I-ate-dust-and-had-to-be-carried-home-like-a-baby_.”

Lucina rolled her eyes at Kjelle. “Leave her alone. We want no bad blood, because Auntie Lissa would go mad. Okay?”

“Aw”, Severa clicked her tongue. “I was gonna suggest a rematch, so this girl can get her ass beat, finally. But okay, your high-and-mighty-ness. If you worry about your sister, I get it.”

Lucina remembered a kind of frail-looking thing, but this Severa was a different matter. She carried herself better, her sword hanging lazily on her hip and she’d grown out her hair to reach further down than Lucina’s ever could. A perfect, soft red color, unlike anyone else’s. Dame Cordelia had hair like fire, but her daughter had that of sun-scorched earth.

“I don’t want any verbal stand-offs either”, Lucina said, her eyes on Severa. “No name-callings or suchlike. Just call me Lucina.”

Severa sucked on her cheek, her scowl growing deeper. “Okay, _Lucina_. I’ll do my best.” Then she glared at Kjelle, pointing a finger at her face. “But I swear, if you’re mean to my brothers or sister in arms, I’ll punch you so hard you can’t count the teeth you lose!”

Kjelle merely lifted her hands in an exaggerated yield, scowling too.

Lucina had the creeping feeling that peace wasn’t going to last very long in this castle.

 

_*_*_*_

 

Weeks passed, and not a word from her father. Auntie Lissa had absolutely no time to babysit the children, she tried to run a whole kingdom and Lucina tried to help her. But what was she, mere sixteen, going to do about collapsing trades and the acute need for newly educated healers and cattle dying and _more_ Risen and the tiny child of a manakete knocking on their door with tears streaming down her face?

Lucina stayed brave, but when she walked into a door handle and the pain radiated from her hip, it was too much. She barely managed to keep herself together until she reached her private washroom, where she finally broke down in front of a golden mirror.

She thought she’d listened when her father had been teaching her, she thought she’d been able to absorb the patience of Frederick and endurance of Auntie Maribelle, but—

She heard steps.

This was _her_ bathroom. There wasn’t supposed to be _steps_ —

The door to the hot bathing chambers opened, and framed by the door was Severa, her hair down in wet stripes and her face half buried in a bathrobe which she was busying herself with smelling. Or, she had been, until she saw Lucina. She froze, face half-covered in fluffed fabric.

“Oh”, Severa mumbled into the bathrobe, her eyes on Lucina’s tearstreaked face. “Oh _no_. I’ll just— I’ll just leave—”

Lucina cleared her throat, tried to look like the composed and elegant princess again. “Any explanation to why you’re in my private bathing chamber to begin with, Miss Severa?”

“Your—? Ah, _damn it_!” Severa grew deathly pale, almost as white as the bathrobe. “You probably won’t believe— I mean, _Kjelle_ said—“ She quieted, then sneaked out of the way, toward the door. “I’ll just leave, okay? I’m so sorry.”

Lucina had forgotten why she was crying. That was just… Weird. Maybe even a little funny, to see the suave Severa that stuttering and unsure. She could tell Severa to stay, that it wasn’t a problem, but that girl was fast. She was gone in a moment. And Lucina was alone with her reflection.

 

_*_*_*_

 

The sky went dark six months after her father’s march into Plegia.

The sky went dark, and no-one knew why.

Lucina lived in chaos, trying to answer impossible questions and instill calm, both at home with the rest of the kids and in front of her people. But what did one sixteen-and-a-half-year-old princess know of the sky?

Then, there was a lone peagsus knight on the vague, ashen horizon. Going straight for the castle, carrying the small hope of an answer.

Auntie Lissa prepared what she could for the knight’s arrival, not knowing what to expect. And both Cynthia and Severa were acting… strange about it. They tackled each other, snapped at each other, and Lucina could sort of understand why. Both expected their mothers.

And one of them was correct.

Falcon Knight Sumia collapsed on the castle courtyard. Auntie Lissa ran up to her with her staff at the ready, lifting Sumia's head. It looked swollen and limp and all around  _bad—_

“Don’t crowd her!” Auntie Lissa called to the guards and children, who all stretched their necks to see. All except Kjelle and Cynthia - Kjelle since she had to physically hold Cynthia back, or she’d run up to her mom. The girl was kicking and screaming enough for five people.

Lucina kept her focus on Lissa. She saw her face go from determined to hopeless, and she signaled Lucina to come closer. Lucina couldn’t stand being the only one to approach, so she pulled at her sister’s arm, and she dragged Cynthia with her.

Everything was a whole mess.

Sumia was beyond hope, and that in itself was like a whole earthquake within Lucina. Dame Sumia was a legend in the sky, on par with Dame Cordelia, and if she was in this condition, what of the rest? What of father, of mother, of Frederick and Auntie Maribelle—

“It’s Robin”, Sumia gasped, over and over again. “It’s Robin, she’s the cause, she killed him, she killed the Exalt, the Fell Dragon is coming—“

“She’s in deep shock”, Lissa choked forth, not capable of staying professional. “I can’t… Chrom is… I don’t know if Maribelle’s—“

“Lucina, Lucina”, Sumia panted, lifting her arm and pointing a trembling finger at her slumped Pegasus’ saddlebags, where the Falchion hung bloodied and dull.

Lucina couldn’t bear the sight. She couldn’t bear the thought.

“Sumia!” Lissa bawled now, even though people were looking. “Sumia, _please_ tell me if Maribelle—“

“She’s—”, Sumia gasped, her own tears obscuring her words. “N-No live. No one. Just me… And I’ll…”

“Kjelle you let me go _right now_ —“ Cynthia howled over Lissa’s choked sobs, over Owain and Brady running up to her to keep her sitting upright, over the whoosh in Lucina’s ears.

 _No one_.

“Mom!!” Cynthia had fought herself free, and her elbow nearly knocked into Lucina’s face as she thundered down beside her mother. “Mom!”

Maybe Cynthia grasping for her mother’s hand did her more harm, but there was nothing Lissa could do anyway. And maybe it actually did Sumia some good, because her eyes cleared a little.

“I’ll be a hero, okay?” Cynthia hiccupped. “I’ll be a hero, and I’ll avenge you, and—“

She trailed off, digging her face into her mother’s arm, only whispering ‘ _mom_ ’ over and over.

“Cynthia.” Sumia actually smiled a little. “Baby girl. Be happy. Okay?”

“Ok…Okay”, Cynthia said.

And the world-shattering earthquakes within Lucina only continued. Although this time, the quakes were real.

The world was ending, in more ways than one.

 

_*_*_*_

 

Lucina needed privacy and she needed it immediately. Immediately.

She stumbled into her bathroom, bile rising and sinking in her throat with her breaths. She found a sink where she could finally release the awful nausea, but nothing actually got _better_ from it.

She’d left the Falchion in the courtyard. She’d left everyone, if there even _was_ an “everyone”. It was all chaos, and Lucina and Lissa should be the ones to subdue it, but how could they? What was the point?

She just needed to hide. But even here, she didn’t get her privacy.

In the corner was a heap of a person. A girl, lying on her side with a sword in her arms, hugged like a snuggle blanket.

“I apologize”, Lucina choked forth – she was in her own washroom and shouldn’t have to excuse herself, but she _had_ just vomited in the sink in another person’s presence and Auntie Maribelle would have been polite. Even now.

There was no response from the heap in the corner. She could have been dead, if it wasn’t for her wheezing breaths. Obviously, Severa needed her privacy too, and Lucina had no energy to be mad that she’d picked _Lucina’s_ hiding place.

She staggered to the corner herself, slid down with her back against the wall.

There were tiny bundles of perfect hair scattered about, not enough to leave thinning spots – because Severa had _so much hair_ – but enough to make Lucina realize it had been torn off intentionally.

She felt sick again.

“Severa…” Lucina spoke only to make sounds, she had no plan, no words. “Severa…? You can’t… bring a sword into my washroom.”

“I don’t see you caring”, Severa mumbled.

Sure. Yeah. Lucina still had her steel sword on. That was fair.

“It’s my washroom”, Lucina said. She didn’t know what she meant, or what she wanted, from that statement.

Severa didn’t answer for a long time. Her eyes were stuck on nothing. “Cynthia’s so _damned_ noisy”, she whispered, and that made the red ember in her eyes burn even brighter. “I can’t stand her dumb face, gods, what is her _deal_? She got to say bye and hold mommy’s hand and… and… _Shit_.“ Her words were shrinking into something smaller and smaller.

Lucina hugged her knees to her chest. “I don’t know… Isn’t that… sort of worse?”

Severa sat upright, the sword scraping against the stone floors. “Worse? You know what I’d _give_? _My_ mom wouldn’t just fall on the ground and _die_ like that! It should have been her and she’d come with the message and be fine!”

“Don’t speak of Dame Sumia like that”, Lucina choked forth. She wanted to hide, and be alone. She wanted to yell at Severa to leave her be, to leave her… the _hell_ … alone!

And at the same time, being on her own sounded… like the worst kind of nightmare. Even if her company was Severa.

“Whatever!” Severa fumed. “They wouldn’t die like that! Dad can’t just have left me a stinking sword, he can’t have— They… _can’t_ die like that!”

Lucina’s world spun. Severa threw the word _die_ around way too much, she couldn’t handle this… Councilor Robin, her sword through Father’s back – where was Mother during all that? How could the one and only Queen Sully possibly fall? How could Uncle Fredrick and Lord Libra, with their axes the only thing stronger than their love, succumb to Plegian monsters? How could Auntie Maribelle, with her strong magic and promise to Lissa, simply… die?

 _They can’t_ , Lucina repeated after Severa. _They… they CAN’T!_

Her tears made it almost impossible to breathe. If they, the heroes and legends of their time, couldn’t do it, what hope did she have?

It was so dark. Dark, dark, dark—

“I’m s-so… s-sca-har-ed”, she hacked forth. It didn’t matter if she told someone, it didn’t matter at all. Her sobs shattered her body and mind, and she could barely, barely breathe. And her _hand_ suddenly ached now too—

It was a squeeze. A hard squeeze, like a hook from reality.

“You’re _scared_?” Severa’s voice was not scornful, her intonation aside. “Well, then get behind me, _princess_ , because I’m not.”

Lucina panted through her mouth, staring at the hand uncomfortably holding on to hers. “Wh— Wha— Not—?“

“No! I’m not!” Severa hugged her sword with one arm, and her hand squeezed Lucina’s again. It wasn’t hard, but Lucina felt it. “Screw _fear_! I’m just… really… really… _really…_ angry.” 

 

_*_*_*_

 

They made their last stand at the castle. Their last stand.

The Fell Dragon was here.

Lucina clasped the Falchion beneath a caved-in ceiling, surrounded by ungodly noise. She thought she heard Kjelle scream her name, as her sister kept Risen after Risen away from Lucina’s back and she thought she heard Noire’s bowstring sing and Owain’s dramatic cries and Laurent’s magic frizzle. But all those sounds were just her imagination. In truth, she heard nothing but the roar of the Fell Dragon Grima.

 _IT IS USELESS TO STRUGGLE, LITTLE WORM_ , the dragon spoke. _I AM THE END OF WORLDS. I WAS MEANT TO DESTROY AND NOTHING CAN HOLD ME._

Lucina had trained all her life not to be afraid. But she was, now. All she could do was raise her blade, feel the glow of her Brand as she screamed wordlessly for no one to hear her. And she was afraid, just like everyone else.

Everyone, except one.

Severa shot forth like a stroke of red lightning, and she jumped off the rubble, straight for the Fell Dragon. Her trusty armorslayer hooked into the scales on its neck. It wasn’t enough to affect the dragon whatsoever, but it caused Lucina to wake. And to jump, herself.

Out, out of the way from the jaws of destruction.

She coughed a breath when she stopped rolling. She was alive, still. She’d cut herself on Falchion from hugging it so tightly, but now she was rising from the dust and rubble with one thing clear. One decision like a bright star, overshadowing everything else.

“Turn back!” she shouted. At Kjelle, who’d narrowly escaped the dragon jaws herself, at Owain, who was drenched in sweat and seemed intent to not be outdone by Severa’s bravado, at everyone she saw and recognized.

And at Severa. Still hanging on to the armorslayer. If the Fell Dragon scratched itself, Severa would be sliced into pieces—

“Sev!” Lucina shouted, tripping over rubble. She was risking herself, and her father would have screamed himself hoarse if he knew. She should run. But she refused to. They couldn’t lose anyone else, especially not her. “Sev! Let go!”

“No!” Severa shouted back.

Lucina cursed under her breath. That stupid sword meant too much to her, damn it all—

The Fell Dragon lowered its head, and stared right into her eyes. Lucina’s heart trembled, and she stopped dead like a rabbit before the bow.

“Run, you idiot!” Severa roared at her though the sudden, purring quiet. The focus was all on Lucina, through the eyes of Grima. They were like stars, hovering in a sky of their own. Lucina was… So small. So useless. No father, no legacy, nothing, nothing—

“You _IDIOT_!”

Severa was fast. That was the only trait Kjelle had ever complimented her for, and the main thing Owain commented on too. It had to be true, considering the breath she knocked out of Lucina as she tackled her down so that they rolled down from the rubble.

Severa was strong, too. No one ever commented on that, but Lucina had noticed that before. And it had to be true, considering how Severa picked her up and darted in through the closest corridor.

“Shit”, Lucina heard her breathe. “Shit, shit, _shit_.”

“Sev”, was all Lucina could answer to that, trying to run on her own legs while Severa still held her.

_SCATTER, WORMS. THERE’S NOWHERE TO HIDE. NOWHERE TO RUN. DIE WHENEVER IT SUITS YOU, BUT DIE TO ME, YOU WILL._

“Shut up, you gross fucking gas-snake”, Severa snarled through her teeth. “Gods, just shut _up_!”

The roars continued, and Lucina’s entire body shook. But Severa’s steps remained true, even now.

 

_*_*_*_

 

There was calm in one place and one place only. With Tiki, the Voice of Naga, and her little hidden holy ground, the Fell Dragon seemed far away. But that was just an illusion. It would come for them here too, and there was but one thing they could ever do about it.

But maybe there was one who could.

High Divine Dragons could manipulate time in incomprehensible ways. This wild attempt at changing the world from the start… would be Naga’s last blessing.

Kjelle patted Lucina between her shoulder blades, and gave a nod. “You can do this”, she said.

“Thanks”, Lucina grimaced. “It will be... _Really_ strange.And the chances of success are ridiculously low.”

“Aw, I can volunteer to hold your hand if you get scared”, Severa scoffed. It could have been scornful, but it was a good-natured scoff.

“Sevvy, there are smoother ways to come across to a lady”, Lucina heard Inigo whisper, before he got an elbow in the ribs.

“I just _meant_ ”, Severa corrected herself, “that Lucina can do all the Hope-stuff, and I can do all the beat-people-up-stuff.”

“I thought that was my job”, Kjelle grinned at her.

“Come on princess. You’re still twelve.”

“Fourteen, actually—“

“Shut up, tiny.”

Kjelle put her arm over Severa’s shoulders, to make a point of how small Severa was compared to her, but… As a hug, too. And Severa rolled her eyes – to make a point of how much she was supposed to _hate_ hugs because she was a hard and tough person, but… As a shared joke, too.

Lucina tried to do everything right, she tried to be serious and elegant and strong and clever, but here, before the Gate of Naga, with her friends and most trusted… She was smiling like a kid again.

And she was not just a _symbol_ of hope, she actually… Felt it. For the first time since the sky went dark. She had people she could rely on, a goal, and... No fear. Not this time.

When they faced the gate, Severa offered her hand. And Lucina took it.


End file.
